Residents, councillor hope to rescue century home faced with demolition

Balliol Street house has a 130-year-old pedigree in Davisville neighbourhood

Longtime Balliol Street resident Christine Yankou says she's worried about what sort of structure could replace the century home at 505 Balliol if the historic home is torn down. (Joe Fiorino/CBC News)

A rare century home on a midtown Toronto street is at risk of demolition, but the local city councillor is vowing to save it with a special motion at this week's council meeting.

The one-and-a-half-storey house at 505 Balliol Street was built almost 130 years ago and bought by the Page family, which lived there for 75 years. The family's grocery store was a local landmark for more than 25 years, according to city records.

But last summer, the house was sold for $2.8 million. The new owner filed a plan with the city to sever the property, demolish the structure and erect two ultra-modern homes on the site a plan that worried local residents and Coun. Josh Matlow, who represents the neighbourhood on Toronto city council.

City staff say the new owner of this historic home on Balliol Street has applied for a demolition permit. (Mike Smee/CBC News)

"505 Balliol is a wonderful example of those small homes that were built in the 1890s with those gabled roofs; quaint is the best description of it," Matlow told CBC Toronto.

"But it also served as the local grocery store, so it was a community hub, the place where everybody would run into each other and catch up on life, and get a quart of milk and share stories together build community. And I think we need to preserve those stories."